I'll be here forever

chapter 2

Percy and I were both breathing hard, but on an adrenaline high from our first victory.

"Seriously, what the fuck was that?" Percy asked me, and I had to take a moment before I could respond.

"Empousa. Servant of Hecate. Greek monster," I said almost automatically.

"I- how do you-"

"Don't ask."

Percy didn't. He sat back down on the ground in silence, still breathing hard, where he inspected his pen-sword thing. It was a moment or two before he said something.

"Anaklusmos. Riptide," he muttered.

"What?"

"That's what it says on the hilt. Riptide."

"Let me see."

I lowered myself to the ground next to him and gestured for him to hand me the sword. He hesitated for a second before handing it to me. Sure enough, a word in greek was inscribed in the hilt. Anaklusmos. Then the letters blurred together, switched around, which gave me a headache. The word turned into Riptide.

"Well, what do you know. You're not totally incompetent," I said, still slightly breathless.

"I'll have you know, I take my role of being totally incompetent very seriously," Percy recapped Riptide and shoved it in his pocket. I shook my head, sheathing my dagger.

We sat in silence for a while. There really was nothing to say. We were strangers that had woken up together without any recollection of who we were, strangers who had defeated a supposedly mythological greek monster with the fighting skills we didn't even know we had. I supposed we would usually go our separate ways by now, but something deep inside of me was very, very against the idea. I didn't know him, but I also didn't know myself. I didn't want to be alone. And he made me feel strangely safe, despite me not knowing him at all.

"Percy is such a strange name, don't you think?" he said, finally.

"A little, yeah."

"I think it's cool. I'm gonna keep it."

"I think I'll keep Daisy. The flower in my hair seemed almost like a sign, I guess," I said, but that wasn't my only reason for keeping it. I liked it because he'd given it to me.

Percy grinned.

"I like it."

"Only because you picked it, stupid."

"Nah, because it's pretty. Like you," he paused as soon as he said it, his face turning red. I laughed.

"I didn't mean- that's not what I-"

I just laughed harder. He huffed.

"Well then, I take it back."

"You can't take it back, idiot."

"Says who?"

"Me, duh."

We both laughed, and I felt so comfortable. I really think it should've taken longer for me to feel at ease with someone that I'd just met with no prior experience to any other person, but it didn't. I felt like I'd known him my whole life. Maybe I had, or maybe he was just some stranger. I don't know if I'd ever really know for sure, and it kind of bothered me.

"Okay, so, I'm curious... what do I look like?" I asked him, when our laughter died down. He turned to me, so we were sitting directly across from each other. Percy looked me up and down slowly, and I squirmed a little. His gaze was very piercing, and it almost felt like he was looking into my soul.

"Your eyes are grey, like the sky when it's cloudy. But they're deep, calculating. I almost feel like you're analyzing my every word whenever you look at me," he laughed, "And your hair is curly and blonde. You're really tan, and if I had to guess you went to some type of summer camp where you were outside constantly. You have freckles across your nose, also probably from being outside in the sun. You're really muscular, too, again probably thanks to that summer camp."

I was a little shocked at how well he'd described me. I'd seen a bit of my reflection in my dagger earlier, and he'd gotten everything exactly right. The only thing he didn't mention is that my hair was frizzy, not just curly. It bet it was a pain to deal with.

He tilted his head and grinned, again giving me that feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn't know what it was, and it was a little irritating that everything he did made me slightly nervous.

"Okay. Your turn," he nodded, and I hesitated. He listened intently.

"Well- your eyes are green, almost," I shook my head. They weren't just "green". They were such a beautiful mix of different hues of blue and green and they swirled together, making it a little hard to concentrate, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

"Your hair is black, I think. You definitely need a haircut," I snorted, and he looked up, as if he could see the top of his head, "And I think we might've gone to the same summer camp. I recognize the obliques and latissimus dorsi muscles on you, used for canoeing. You're pretty tan, too. I wonder where we went?" I asked, trying to change the subject away from how muscular he was, so I could keep my face from turning even brighter red.

"The obli-what now?" he shook his head, "You know what, never mind. I knew you were smart."

I bit the inside of my cheek, happy with the compliment. Of course I wouldn't tell him that, though.

"Anyways, what do we do now?" he laughed, "we're in the middle of a field in a forest in who knows where, with dead monster dust on us, and with no idea who we are."

"So you don't... you don't want to split up?" I supposed splitting up was the rational thing to do, but I just couldn't bring myself to suggest it. I hoped he wouldn't either.

"I wasn't planning on it. I mean, unless you want to," Percy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

I shook my head so quickly that I think my brain rattled around in my skull. It scolded me, because going our separate ways would be a wiser decision, but my gut told me to stay with him. Maybe my heart had a small hand in the decision as well.

"Okay. Cool," his smile made it worth it.